Eremophila plant named ‘MSWNErmas’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Eremophila  plant named ‘MSWNErmas’, characterized by its relatively compact, upright to outwardly spreading plant habit; vigorous growth habit and rapid growth rate; freely branching habit, dense and bushy appearance; acicular dark green-colored leaves; relatively early and freely flowering habit; long flowering period; bright red-colored flowers; and good garden performance.

Botanical designation: Eremophila maculata.

Cultivar denomination: ‘MSWNErmas’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY INVENTOR & APPLICANT/ASSIGNEE

The Inventor and Applicant/Assignee assert that no publications nor advertisements relating to sales, offers for sale or public distribution occurred more than one year prior to the effective filing date of this application. Any information about the claimed plant would have been obtained from a direct or indirect disclosure from the Inventor and/or Applicant/Assignee. Inventor and Applicant/Assignee claim a prior art exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) for disclosure and/or sales prior to the filing date but less than one year prior to the effective filing date.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Eremophila plant, botanically known as Eremophila maculata, commonly referred to as Spotted Emu Bush and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘MSWNErmas’. The genus Eremophila is a member of Scrophulariaceae family and Eremophila maculata is endemic to mainland Australia.

The new Eremophila plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Glendale, Ariz. The objective of the breeding program is to create new relatively compact and freely flowering Eremophila plants with attractive flower coloration and improved low and high temperature tolerance.

The new Eremophila plant originated from an open-pollination in March, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. of Eremophila maculata ‘Thunder Cloud’, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Eremophila maculata as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Eremophila plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled environment in Glendale, Ariz. on Aug. 22, 2016.

Asexual reproduction of the new Eremophila plant by terminal vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in Glendale, Ariz. since August, 2018, has shown that the unique features of this new Eremophila plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Eremophila have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘MSWNErmas’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘MSWNErmas’ as a new and distinct Eremophila plant:

-   -   1. Relatively compact, upright to outwardly spreading plant         habit.     -   2. Vigorous growth habit and rapid growth rate.     -   3. Freely branching habit, dense and bushy appearance.     -   4. Acicular dark green-colored leaves.     -   5. Relatively early and freely flowering habit.     -   6. Long flowering period.     -   7. Bright red-colored flowers.     -   8. Good garden performance.

Plants of the new Eremophila differ primarily from plants of the female parent, ‘Thunder Cloud’ in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Eremophila are more compact and denser than         plants of ‘Thunder Cloud’.     -   2. Leaves of plants of the new Eremophila are acicular whereas         leaves of plants of ‘Thunder Cloud’ are oblong.     -   3. Plants of the new Eremophila flower earlier and for a longer         period of time than plants of ‘Thunder Cloud’.     -   4. Flowers of plants of the new Eremophila are bright red in         color whereas flowers of plants of ‘Thunder Cloud’ are purple in         color.

Plants of the new Eremophila can be compared to plants of Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Eremophila differ primarily from plants of ‘Valentine’ in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Eremophila are more rounded than and not as         mounded as plants of ‘Valentine’.     -   2. Leaves of plants of the new Eremophila are acicular whereas         leaves of plants of ‘Valentine’ are oblong.     -   3. Flowers of plants of the new Eremophila are bright red in         color whereas flowers of plants of ‘Valentine’ are magenta in         color.

Plants of the new Eremophila can also be compared to plants of an unnamed selection of Eremophila pterocarpa, not patented, commercially referred to as Silvery Poverty Bush. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Eremophila differ primarily from plants of the unnamed selection of Eremophila pterocarpa in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Eremophila are more compact and much         shorter than plants of the unnamed selection of Eremophila         pterocarpa.     -   2. Leaves of plants of the new Eremophila are dark green in         color whereas leaves of plants of the unnamed selection of         Eremophila pterocarpa are silvery green in color.     -   3. Plants of the new Eremophila flower for a longer period of         time than plants of the unnamed selection of Eremophila         pterocarpa.     -   4. Flowers of plants of the new Eremophila are bright red in         color whereas flowers of plants of the unnamed selection of         Eremophila pterocarpa are pale salmon in color.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Eremophila plant showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Eremophila plant.

The photograph on the first sheet (FIG. 1) is a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘MSWNErmas’ grown in a container.

The photograph on the second sheet (FIG. 2) is a close-up view of a typical flowering plant of ‘MSWNErmas’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photographs and following observations and measurements describe plants grown during the spring and summer in three-gallon containers in outdoor nurseries in Glendale, Ariz. and Fort Worth, Tex. and under cultural practices typical of commercial Eremophila production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 10° C. to 47.8° C. and night temperatures ranged from 1° C. to 32.2° C. Plants were three years old when the photographs and description were taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2015 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

-   Botanical classification: Eremophila maculata ‘MSWNErmas’. -   Parentage:     -   -   Female, or seed, parent.—Eremophila maculata ‘Thunder             Cloud’, not patented.         -   Male, or pollen, parent.—Unknown selection of Eremophila             maculata, not patented. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—By terminal vegetative cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots, summer.—About 15 days at soil             temperatures about 27° C.         -   Time to initiate roots, winter.—About 30 days at soil             temperatures about 22° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, summer.—About 75 days             at soil temperatures about 27° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About 120 days             at soil temperatures about 22° C.         -   Root description.—Medium in thickness, fibrous; typically             white to light brown in color, actual color of the roots is             dependent on substrate composition, water quality,             fertilizer type and formulation, substrate temperature and             physiological age of roots.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching; dense. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant and growth habit.—Perennial shrub; relatively compact,             upright to outwardly spreading plant habit; vigorous growth             habit and rapid growth rate; freely branching habit with             lateral branches potentially developing at every node; dense             and bushy appearance.         -   Plant height.—About 74 cm.         -   Plant diameter.—About 72 cm. -   Lateral branch description:     -   -   Length.—About 53 cm.         -   Diameter, proximally.—About 1.5 cm.         -   Internode length.—Variably, about 1.5 cm to 3 cm.         -   Strength.—Moderately strong; flexible when developing.         -   Aspect.—Primary stems, mostly upright; lateral branches             about 45° from primary stem axis.         -   Texture and luster.—Smooth, glabrous becoming rough and             woody with development; semi-glossy when developing becoming             matte with development.         -   Color, developing.—Close to 144A.         -   Color, developed.—Close to 199A; when woody, close to N199A. -   Leaf description:     -   -   Arrangement.—Alternate, simple; sessile.         -   Length.—About 4.5 cm.         -   Width.—About 7.5 mm.         -   Shape.—Acicular.         -   Apex.—Acute.         -   Base.—Cuneate.         -   Margin.—Entire, slightly undulate.         -   Texture and luster, upper and lower surfaces.—Smooth,             glabrous; slightly to semi-glossy.         -   Venation pattern.—Pinnate.         -   Color.—Developing leaves, upper and lower surfaces: Close to             144A becoming closer to more green than 146A. Fully expanded             leaves, upper surface: More green than 147A; venation, more             green than 147A. Fully expanded leaves, lower surface:             Darker green than 146A; midvein, close to 146A and lateral             venation, darker green than 146A. -   Flower description:     -   -   Flower arrangement and habit.—Bilabiate flowers with a             bulbous base; five fused petals; upper lip, four-parted and             lower lip, single lobe; flowers face mostly outwardly;             freely flowering habit with single flowers potentially             developing at every axil during the flowering season.         -   Fragrance.—None detected.         -   Natural flowering season.—Plants flower continuously from             spring until late summer in northern Texas.         -   Flower longevity.—Flowers last about two weeks on the plant;             flowers persistent.         -   Flower diameter (horizontal axis).—About 1.25 cm.         -   Flower height (vertical axis).—About 2 cm.         -   Flower depth (not including reproductive organs).—About 4             cm.         -   Flower throat diameter.—About 1 cm.         -   Flower tube length.—About 1.6 cm.         -   Flower tube diameter, distally.—About 5 mm.         -   Flower tube diameter, bulbous base.—About 9 mm.         -   Flower buds (prior to petal appearance).—Length: About 9 mm.             Diameter: About 3 mm. Shape: Narrowly ovoid. Texture and             luster: Smooth, glabrous; semi-glossy. Color: Close to 146A;             prior to petal opening, close to 151A variably overlain with             close to between N45A and 46A.         -   Petals.—Arrangement: Five fused petals fused at the base;             distally, upper lip is four-parted and reflexing; lower lip             is a single lobe that is reflexing to curled. Length, upper             lip, free part: About 3 cm. Length, lower lip, free part:             About 2.7 cm. Width, upper lip, free part, flattened: About             1.6 cm. Width, lower lip, free part, flattened: About 6 mm.             Shape, upper lip, free part: Broadly lanceolate; apices,             acuminate. Shape, lower lip, free part: Lanceolate; apex,             acuminate. Margin, upper lip, free part: Entire; reflexed.             Margin, lower lip, free part: Entire; reflexed and curled.             Texture and luster, upper and lower lips, free part, upper             surface: Smooth, glabrous; semi-glossy. Texture and luster,             upper and lower lips, free part, lower surface: Smooth,             glabrous; semi-glossy to glossy. Texture and luster, throat:             Sparsely pubescent; slightly to semi-glossy. Texture and             luster, tube and bulbous base: Smooth, glabrous; semi-glossy             to glossy. Color, free and fused portions: When opening and             fully opened, inner surface: Close to 162B to 162C; spots,             close to 59A; venation, similar to lamina; colors do not             change with development. When opening and fully opened,             outer surface: Close to 151B to 151C variably overlain with             close to 59A; venation, similar to lamina; colors do not             change with development; bulbous base, close to N144B.         -   Sepals.—Arrangement: Star-shaped calyx with five sepals in a             single whorl fused at the base. Length: About 7 mm. Width,             free part: About 4.5 mm. Shape: Narrowly deltoid. Apex:             Elongated acuminate. Margin: Entire. Texture and luster,             upper surface: Smooth, glabrous; slightly glossy. Texture             and luster, lower surface: Smooth, glabrous; semi- glossy.             Color: When opening and fully opened, upper surface: Close             to 146A. When opening and fully opened, lower surface: Close             to 146A.         -   Peduncles.—Length: About 1.75 mm. Diameter: About 1 mm.             Angle: About 45° from stein axis. Strength: Moderately             strong, flexible, wiry. Texture and luster: Smooth,             glabrous; semi-glossy. Color: Close to 144A variably             overlain with close to 187A.         -   Reproductive organs.—Stamens: Quantity: Four to five per             flower. Filament length: About 3.5 cm. Filament color: Close             to between 154D and 157A. Anther size: About 1.5 mm by 3 mm.             Anther shape: Bi-lobed, oblong. Anther color: Close to 163A.             Pollen amount: None observed. Pistils: Quantity: One per             flower. Pistil length: About 5 cm. Style length: About             4.7 cm. Style color: Close to NN155D. Stigma diameter: Less             than 1 mm. Stigma shape: Tapering. Stigma color: Close to             NN155D. Ovary color: Close to 144A.         -   Fruits.—Quantity per flower: One. Size and shape: About 1.1             cm by 1.2 cm; roughly spherical. Texture and luster: Smooth,             glabrous; semi-glossy. Color: More green than 144A.         -   Seeds.—Quantity per fruit: Typically one or two. Size and             shape: About 2 mm by 2.5 mm; bi-lobed. Texture and luster:             Smooth, glabrous; semi-glossy. Color: More green than 144A. -   Pathogen resistance: To date, plants of the new Eremophila have not     been observed to be resistant to pathogens common to Eremophila     plants. -   Garden performance: Plants of the new Eremophila have been observed     to have good garden performance, to tolerate drought, arid     conditions and temperatures ranging from −6.7° C. to 47.8° C. 

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct Eremophila plant named ‘MSWNErmas’ as illustrated and described. 